Kamehameha Pharmacy closes, leaving North Kohala residents with fewer health options
North Kohala’s only nearby pharmacy is gone, forcing residents to Waimea for prescriptions, shots and urgent refills on a 30- to 45-minute drive.
Kamehameha Pharmacy shut its doors last week, and North Kohala residents now must travel to Waimea for the closest pharmacy, a 30- to 45-minute drive by the quickest route. For a rural district where that route runs narrow and windy, without street lights and often through fog and rain, the loss reaches far beyond a closed storefront.
The store at 54-3877 Akoni Pule Highway in Kapaau had been serving the community for more than 50 years. News From The States described it as the only pharmacy for miles in a North Kohala community of roughly 7,000 people, a place where prescriptions, immunizations, Medicaid and Medicare needs, durable medical equipment and basic pharmacy counseling were handled in one stop. Census Reporter lists North Kohala CCD at 7,153 residents.
Sandra Cho, president of the local senior citizen club, said about 80% of the community is over age 60 and many residents need regular medication. That makes the distance to Longs Drugs in Waimea especially consequential for kūpuna and people managing chronic illness, who may need refills, vaccinations or urgent medication support without the flexibility to wait for a trip into town.
Greg Harmon, the pharmacy’s owner, said he retired after trying for three years to sell the business without finding a buyer. He also said shrinking insurer reimbursement made the business harder to sustain. When he took over 25 years ago, he said the community was already so dependent on the pharmacy that 35 prescriptions were filled before it even opened that day.
Harmon is transferring customers to Longs Drugs in Waimea, but the move shifts routine care onto a road trip that can be difficult for drivers without reliable cars, family support or steady transportation. Hawaii County transit information shows North Hawaii bus service exists, yet a bus does not replace the immediacy of a nearby pharmacist when a medication runs out, a vaccine is due, or a caregiver needs quick advice.
Kamehameha Pharmacy had been one of the last independent pharmacies on the Big Island. Its closure leaves North Kohala with fewer health options and turns a simple refill into a much longer, and for some residents much harder, trip.
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